02 April,2026 03:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Kevin Pietersen, Rishabh Pant (Pic: File Pic)
The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) began their IPL 2026 campaign on a bitter note. The side suffered a loss by six wickets against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.
During the match, it took everyone by surprise when LSG's captain Rishabh Pant opened the innings along with Mitchell Marsh. However, he was unable to deliver a big knock despite batting at the top of the order.
Facing nine balls, he managed to score just seven runs, including a boundary.
Speaking about his decision to open the innings, former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen questioned whether the 28-year-old cricketer is an opening batsman.
"When you look at the strength and depth of LSG's batting, is Rishabh Pant really an opening batter? I think he might have gone a little too far ahead of where he was in the line-up compared to last year," he told JioHotsar.
"Last year, he moved down the order, and now suddenly it's, 'I'm going to come up to the top'. I think he just needs to go out and enjoy his cricket," added Pietersen.
The former cricketer then feels that Pant is pressurising himself by opening the innings for Lucknow.
"Don't force yourself into batting at (number) three, enjoy the luxury of that position. I think he puts himself under tremendous pressure by opening the batting," he said.
Later in the run chase of 142 runs, the Capitals successfully scored 145 runs for the loss of four wickets in 17.1 overs.
Sameer Rizvi, who came in as an Impact Player for DC, delivered a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 70 runs. Facing just 45 balls, he scored five boundaries and four maximums.
On the back of one loss, LSG will gear up to face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 5 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mitchell Marsh, Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anrich Nortje, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Aiden Markram, Avesh Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Himmar Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Josh Inglis (WK), M Siddharth, Moshin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Abdul Samad, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari, Akshat Raghuvanshi, Mayank Yadav, M Choudhary (WK), Prince Yadav, Digvesh Rathi.
(With PTI Inputs)
